New to site/online class advice

[cecile9155, BSN, RN]

Hi all,

I'm new to the site and am looking for some advice on online classes. I've taken several classes online: Introduction to Nutrition, A&P II, and most recently Microbiology. Currently I'm taking Pharmacology and Developmental Psychology online. I have a 4.0 GPA so far (3.89 in my original BA degree). I wouldn't say I've loved the online format thus far but when you work full time sometimes it's your only option. Micro was really hard online but I think it's going to be Developmental Psychology that's going to push me over the edge. The instructor for the class indicated in her syllabus that she's open to questions and to feel free to email her anytime. So after reading the first unit and working through the first assignment, I emailed her some questions. When she finally responded, her responses didn't actually answer my questions. Frustrated, I followed up trying to clarify my questions. She didn't respond. She responded to a separate email question so I tried to follow up again about the unanswered email. She never responded. I handed that assignment in without ever having my questions answered. For the 2nd assignment I emailed her questions and she more or less responded that I needed to do the reading carefully. Before I emailed her, I read the chapters and took notes. I typed up my notes for future reference. I read the chapters a second time while doing the assignment. Desperate I even searched the internet trying to figure out what the question was asking. In other words, I had struggled so when I asked the questions I really needed some help and guidance. I gave up on that assignment also and handed it in. Fast forward to the most recent test. Several of the questions had more than one correct answer. One question was worded very poorly. I emailed her about the ones I had gotten wrong expressing concern and her responses clearly indicated that she hadn't read my email entirely. So I sent her follow-up questions. No response as of yet. Worse, I have other questions to ask her (the content that we need to complete the rest of the course is missing from the class website) but don't want to ask or she'll ignore the questions I have about the test. I've been in touch with a friend in class and her experience is similar. Her last two assignments the instructor took points off but offered no explanation or feedback of what she could do to improve. She responded and asked for some specifics because she had spent hours on the assignment. The instructor has never responded. We have no phone number to reach this instructor. Only email. If I drop the class now, I'm fairly certain I'll lose the money that I paid for it. In addition, the new edition of the textbook is coming out in the fall so I'll have to buy a new book. Has anyone run into something similar with an online instructor? Any advice? Do I give up?

[LoriRNCM, ADN, ASN, RN]

I took a HUM class online, biggest mistake ever. Western Civ. The material is hard enough without having a slack professor. I ended up emailing the dean. After that, she got much better at taking responsibility for class updates on the site and I ended up with a B, which I was happy to get considering how hard it was to get any response from the prof. I hate to make waves for anyone but I wasn't going to let that get in the way of my grade.